Here are The Things.
Thing 1 is sitting on the couch with the lightsaber in his hand. He's ten. Thing 2 is sitting on the floor, he's eight. Thing 3 is the naked monkey. He's four. They're watching TV. Aren't those faces precious?
Mom and I woke up around 7:30 or so (I know! On a Sunday! A new record for me) so we could be ready to pick up Grand Momma MG and Cool Guy Al somewhat on time. First of all, we almost didn't make it to The Things' house. The snow was atrocious! (I'll make a post about that later.) I didn't really notice though, because I slept all of the way down. No. Wait. I did wake up to put gas in Mom's car, because it was too cold for everyone else. When we arrived, we found the house a bustle with activity, except where Thing 1 was concerned. His eyes were pasted to the TV. Meow wasn't moving much either. She was still sleeping. Everyone else was moving though.
It's a touching thing to see a dad putting a tie on his son. It's almost like a requirement to every rite of passage a boy goes through in his life. Even when I graduated from college, I still saw guys' fathers helping them with their ties.
I did my best to stay awake while everyone around me made food, fixed their hair and fed their children. Thing 3 was kind enough to keep me awake by demanding my attention be fixed on his guitar-donkey-kick dance.
Soon enough, it was time to head to the church. This church is a giant mammoth of stone. It's shaped like a ring, so if the priest desires, parishioners can be seated in three-hundred sixty degrees around him. That day we were seated in a half circle.
Here's Thing 2 at the church in his cute suit.
I felt so
Mass started, and I was struck by two things. First, how quiet everyone was during the first song. With how many people were there and the fact that most of the church is made of stone, the sound waves should have been bouncing all around and filling the air up to the distant ceiling. They weren't though. It was like the sound was struggling to get out of people's throats. I was caught off guard and started off singing a little loud. I tried to tone it down a little, so I wouldn't embarass everyone around me if I hit a wrong note, but we all know how hard it is for me to be quiet when...well we all know how hard it is for me to be quiet.
The priest wasn't too happy about it either. I think the apprehension stemmed from the fact that a lot of the people were visitors and were probably uncomfortable singing in new surroundings. Either way, I still sang louder than everyone else. I know because one of the alter servers kept staring at me with an annoyed face. I guess she didn't like my singing :-).
The other thing I was struck about was the priest. He was really young compared to other priests I've seen. This guy was probably in his 30's. It was nice to see a young priest. It just made me happy.
We weren't allowed to take pictures during Mass, of course, so I didn't get a picture of Thing 2 at the big moment. I felt really proud though. I'm not sure why. I actually felt a little guilty being proud, he's not even my kid so I can't take credit for anything. I couldn't help it though. I remember when he was born, when he started walking, when he started potty training. Children grow up so damn fast, don't they?
After the Mass, we all headed back to the Things' House for food. Juggler Momma made some really awesome food. I especially enjoyed the artichoke and spinach cheeze dip. I could make a meal of that alone.
And so we all ate. Juggler Momma, The Father of the Things, Thing 1, Thing 2, Thing 3, Hoochie Momma, Roar, Meow, Cool Guy Al, Grand Momma MG, The Patriarch, Mom and me (I think that's everyone). We gorged ourselves on ham, pancit, shrimp, pasta salad, cake and baklava. It was awesome. There were tons of leftovers (of course).
Thing 2 opened his presents while we ate cake. It's funny to see a child open cards when he hopes there's money in them. He took each card, and held it up "for everyone to see." Then he shook it a little just to make sure there's wasn't anything hiding under the insert in the card :-). Teehee! It's what I would've done if I were his age.
The combination of the great meal and early rising bred lethargy in everyone except the Things. I admit it. I took a nap. I'm not ashamed.
We left around 5:30. The Patriarch came back with us. Hoochie Momma, Roar and Meow opted to stay until the pass cleared. It was slow going back home but we made it and Mom cacked out in her room until 7:00. It was a good day.
I'm gonna have to go back and rewrite some of this later. I'm getting sleepy. I promised Noona I'd post something though :-).
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